The defect
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is recalling certain model year 1993-1995 102DL3 motor coaches manufactured November 1992 to January 1995, and 2006 and 2008 D4505 motor coaches manufactured June 2005 to April 2008. The affected buses are equipped with a driveshaft with a compressed length of 30 inches or less, a steerable trailing axle equipped with a system that changes the tag axle caster when the vehicle is in reverse travel and no electronic stability control (ESC). In these vehicles, the driveshaft may detach from the transmission and escape its containment bracket.
The risk
If the driveshaft escapes containment it can strike the trailing axle tie rod and components of the trailing axle locking system potentially causing the trailing axle steering and caster locking mechanisms to unlock. If this occurs, the driver may experience loss of steering control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
The remedy
MCI will notify owners, and dealers will add a secondary drive shaft containment hoop forward of the tag axle support structure, free of charge. The recall began on August 7, 2014. Owners may contact MCI customer service at 1-847-285-2090. MCI's number for this recall is 414.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| MCI 102DL3 | 1993, 1994, 1995 |
| MCI D4505 | 2006, 2008 |
Components: POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCI 102DL3 | 1993 | 0 | 5 |
| MCI 102DL3 | 1994 | 0 | 3 |
| MCI 102DL3 | 1995 | 0 | 3 |
| MCI D4505 | 2006 | 0 | 10 |
| MCI D4505 | 2008 | 0 | 9 |
Other power train recalls in 2014
49 of the 770 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2014 concerned the power train; Motor Coach Industries filed 45 campaigns in all.
| 14V819000 24 Dec 2014 | General Motors LLC |
| 14V811000 22 Dec 2014 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 14V803000 19 Dec 2014 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 14V796000 16 Dec 2014 | Chrysler Group LLC |
| 14V789000 15 Dec 2014 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 14V784000 9 Dec 2014 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 14V779000 8 Dec 2014 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 14V739000 18 Nov 2014 | Volvo Trucks North America |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2014